January, 1910. J 



28 



Edible Products. 



of a great portion of the Province of 

 Nueva Ecija. This is done where the 

 water supply is under control. The 

 ground, as usual, is ploughed and harrow- 

 ed three or four times, or until it is well 

 pulverised for good germination. The 

 seed is put in a rice sack and then placed 

 in water and left there to soak. After 

 three or four hours the seed is removed 

 from the water and hung up wet for 

 about twenty-four hours, or uutil at 

 least about 50 per cent, of the grains 

 have sprouted, when it is sown broad- 

 cast on strips or lots about 8 or 9 feet in 

 width. The soil at the time of sowing 

 must be well saturated and kept in that 

 state until the young plants have acquir- 

 ed sufficient height and vigour to stand 

 more water. Some farmers keep their 

 seed beds under water all the time, 

 while others cut off the water supply 

 for a day or so every once in a while 

 and thus expose the growing plants 

 and the soil to the free action of the 

 sunshine and air. 



Of the three methods of seeding — 

 namely, (1) the one described in the 

 foregoing, (2) that by drilling the seed, 

 or the Ilocano method, and (3) that by 

 sowing it without sprouting on a drier 

 bed than that used for sprouted seed - 

 I have been informed by almost every 

 one who is familiar with them that the 

 Ilocano method of drilling is the surest, 

 especially where there is any danger 

 from lack of rain or the water supply is 

 not under control. The seed being 

 equal, the Ilocano method generally 

 gives a germination of not less than 90 

 per cent., while either of the other two 

 methods gives only 75 or 80 per cent, or 

 less. On the other hand, the seed stools 

 less with the Ilocano method of seeding. 

 There is no noticeable difference, how- 

 ever, in the behaviour of the plants 

 transplanted from seedlings produced 

 by these three different methods of 

 seeding. 



In Tarlac Province, especially in the 

 municipalities of (Japas, Tarlac, and 

 Concepcion, dry-season rice growing is 

 more or less practised. Of course only 

 those lands with artificial irrigation can 

 be utilised for this purpose, and there 

 is only a small area in each town that 

 has such requirements. Thex^e are a 

 number of varieties adapted to the dry 

 season. They are collectively called 

 "palakaya" or " tag-araw " rice ; "inita," 

 an awnless variety, is the one mostly 

 grown. The planting is done during 

 the early part of February and the crop 

 is harvested in May. The process of 

 growing or cultivation is very simple: 

 After the land is cleared of the regular 

 crop— about the middle of January the 



field is flooded, drained, and then the 

 rice stubble is ploughed under. Some 

 plough the ground a second time, then it 

 is harrowed and the seed is sown broad- 

 cast while the soil is still saturated. I 

 cannot give the exact rate of sowing 

 because I could find no one who was 

 able to furnish such data. From what I 

 have seen, however, I reckon it to be 

 about 1| cavanes of seed to a balita of 

 land, or about 375 liters (10 bushels) per 

 hectare. After the seed has germinated 

 and rooted, and is therefore free from 

 the danger of floating or being washed 

 away, should there be any daugei of 

 the young plants suffering from drought, 

 it may be watered again and drained. 

 The water has to be kept on after the 

 plants have produced three or four 

 leaves and cut off again after they have 

 fully headed. It is said that only from 

 6 to 10 "cavanes" (450 to 750 liters), 

 generally about 7, of crop are obtained 

 from dry-season rice. 



In Zambales Province the highland 

 rice growers, like the American Indians, 

 I am told, practise boiling the rice 

 before hulling it, after which it is 

 cooked and used for food. This is done 

 when the rice has been freshly cut and 

 thrashed and sometimes is still green, 

 or when there is not enough sunshine 

 to properly dry the paddy. The process 

 of boiling is rather one of steaming than 

 actually boiling. It is believed, and I 

 know it is a fact, that by so doing the 

 rice kernel is made tougher and thus is 

 better able to stand the pressure of 

 hulling. 



IMPROVEMENTS IN PADDY 

 CULTIVATION, 



(From the Indian Agriculturist, Vol. 

 XXXIV., No. 7, July 1, 1909.) 

 Ryots in our Presidency can learn a 

 good deal from the improved methods 

 adopted in cultivating paddy at the 

 Court of Wards' Home Farm in Sivagiri 

 in the Tinnevelly district. Sivagiri lies 

 about six miles from the foot of the 

 Ghauts. The average rainfall is about 

 25 inches per annum. The Home Farm 

 consists of 252 acres of wet land under 

 four tanks, besides dry and " poram- 

 boke." The soil under tank irrigation 

 varies in texture from sandy to clayey 

 loam, the sub-soil is clayey and overlies 

 a bed of nodular limestone. Some of 

 the land is very much subject to drought, 

 whilst other portions were originally 

 saline, but have now been much im- 

 proved, The farm has been under the 

 management of the Court of Wards for 

 a considerable number of years, but. it 



